Yuvraj Singh

The arrival

Yuvraj Singh was there from the start, in the league's first season, 2008, signed by Kings XI Punjab outside the auction.

That first season brought 15 matches, 299 runs and 3 wickets.

The peak

The high point with the bat was 2014, for Royal Challengers Bangalore: 376 runs at an average of 34.2, striking at 135.2 in a season when the league as a whole struck at 129.1, with 3 fifties, and a highest score of 83.

Measured against the league around it, though, the most destructive season was 2008: 299 runs at a strike rate of 162.5, 33 runs per hundred balls quicker than the IPL as a whole that year.

With the ball, the best season was 2011, for Pune Warriors: 9 wickets at 6.58 runs an over, while the league's bowlers went for 7.51, with best figures of 4 for 29.

Franchise by franchise

2008 to 2010, Kings XI Punjab. 43 matches, 898 runs and 14 wickets.

2011 to 2013, Pune Warriors. Bought at the 2011 auction for ₹8.10 cr. 27 matches, 581 runs and 15 wickets.

2014, Royal Challengers Bangalore. Bought at the 2014 auction for ₹14 cr. 14 matches, 376 runs and 5 wickets.

2015, Delhi Daredevils. Bought at the 2015 auction for ₹16 cr. 14 matches, 248 runs and 1 wicket.

2016 to 2017, Sunrisers Hyderabad. Bought at the 2016 auction for ₹7 cr. 22 matches, 488 runs and 1 wicket; champions in 2016.

2018, Kings XI Punjab, second time round. Bought at the 2018 auction for ₹2 cr. 8 matches and 65 runs.

2019, Mumbai Indians. Bought at the 2019 auction for ₹1 cr. 4 matches and 98 runs; champions in 2019.

7 spells with six franchises in all. The longest was with Kings XI Punjab, 2008 to 2010. 2012 is missing from the record: a season without an IPL appearance.

Bat, ball and method

Across the career, Yuvraj Singh struck at 129.8. The league around those same seasons, weighted by how much batting each one involved, struck at 126.9, so the scoring rate tracked the league's almost exactly. 64% of the runs came in fours and sixes: 218 fours and 149 sixes.

The ball-by-ball record adds the detail. 41.9% of the balls Yuvraj Singh faced were dot balls, a higher share than 88% of the 140 batters who have faced 500 balls or more in the IPL. A six came every 14.2 balls, and a four every 9.7.

With the ball, 36 wickets in 870 deliveries, at 7.43 runs an over against a league rate of 7.74 for the same seasons: 0.31 an over cheaper than the typical bowler of the time. There were two four-wicket hauls, and the best figures were 4 for 29.

29.7% of the balls Yuvraj Singh bowled were dots, a lower share than 94% of the 150 bowlers with 500 balls or more; a wicket came every 24.1 balls.

The fielding record: 29 catches and 10 run-outs.

At the auction

Yuvraj Singh went under the hammer six times. The highest price was ₹16 cr, paid by Delhi Daredevils in 2015, more than 8 times the base price. The market cooled over time: the last purchase, in 2019, cost ₹1 cr.

Seasons without an auction entry were played under a retention, a trade or a signing made outside the auction.

The legacy

Yuvraj Singh made 132 IPL appearances, the last for Mumbai Indians in 2019, and won 5 player-of-the-match awards.